The 1896/11 rifle is a modernized version of the 1889 that was designed to handle the more powerful 7.5x55mm Swiss Gewehrpatrone 1911 (GP11) cartridge. GP11 has similar ballistic qualities to that of the 7.62x51mm NATO / .308 Winchester round. Other improvements were made in order to make the 1896/11 lighter and easier to handle, such as a new barrel and a 6 round capacity box magazine.